Back - Part V

Day 5 saw us challenge the infamous Mortirolo. Lance Armstrong said it was the hardest climb he's ever done. Its hard to argue any differently.

A point that needs to be made about these rides. You really have no choice but to get over these climbs. There is no flat way home. There is no sag wagon. This removes the soft options of  stopping half way after you've had enough. You simply have to suffer.

Day 5 was a day of suffering. The Mortirolo averages 10% over 12km. With very very  long ramps of 16%. I was fortunate to be feeling strong so was able to tap out a decent pace. For a comparison the lead group averaged 11km/hr up the Mortirolo, we averaged 8km/hr it was nice to see the pro's suffering like us!

Made it to the summit in 3rd spot behind Lazye and our Ex-Pro tour guide with a time of 1hr 28min. The last finisher scaled the climb in 2.5hrs!

The Mortirolo is a nicely paved goat track.
The Pantani memorial was very touching, and located smack bang in the middle of the 16% gradient. Right where he would have loved to launch an attack.
Relief!
The obligatory photo snap.
Just one of the many funny road paint marks littered on the way up!